When is a door not a door?

If you're old enough to remember the old joke that I used as a title for this post then you may know the answer to the identity of this striking piece of rust-art. In purely abstract terms the shapes, lines, and colours present a bold image, but look closer and you'll find the textures of worn faded paint, cracked dried out rubber, and hard chrome trim, and the realisation that you are viewing part of an old car on its side. Have you got it yet?

So when is a door not a door? The answer is - "when it's ajar'" of course!

Reflections.

It's not often that a car appears on this blog that doesn't have any rust on it, but today's post in an exception. When I first saw this photo I couldn't stop looking and the shape, curves, and best of all the glossy finish of this old Jaguar. Not only a Classic, but also a classy car!

I came across this painting while browsing the net recently. I have no idea who painted it, but it made me smile as it proves there's others out there that find our rusty old cars and trucks beautiful enough to paint!

Peregrine Heathcote

As regular readers will know, every now and again I come across an artist who's work I mention here. Such an artist is found in the unlikely name of Peregrine Heathcote.

Now don't get me wrong I like the images, after all they feature old cars, classic aviation, and ocean liners reminiscent of the deco style, the trouble is they are also reminiscent of another artist!

Sadly I find Heathcote's paintings contrived, the oh so vacant look of the female model conjures up an impression of gormless beauty rather than the wistfulness that I'm sure the artist intended.

Having said that I do like the images, but I guess that's down to the subject matter as opposed to the originality, or artistic merit of the work. there's a certain Deja Voux about them all, as I'm sure a certain Jack Vettriano might agree!

How about this for a seasonal image of beautiful decay. The Autumnal colours echo those outside in my garden at the moment, although I'm not lucky enough to find 1950's American cars amongst my leaves!

An old sketch.

Regular readers will know that from time to time I mention my favourite colour combination of blue and orange, or rather blue and rust.
Many times I have found this combination to create some striking images found in nature, and for me never more so than when seen on an old car. For those of you that have visited my other blog this vehicle might need no introduction, it is a variant of the Citroen 2cv, the restoration of which that blog was set up to chronicle.

Old Citroen 2cv's rust - spectacularly! Yet for all that they seem to settle into a patina of rust and wear that appears perfectly acceptable. Why I don't know, but the rust just seems to add character.
I painted the sketch above a few years ago, it is a painting of a vehicle that was actually still in regular use, and I just couldn't resist recording the details!

Corroded mainline 57

corroded mainline 57
Originally uploaded by movitz

Once again a 'pretty as a picture' scene of dereliction!
I love the way the sweeping chrome strip on this Ford has stayed a sharp as the day it was made, while all around it crumbles.